More From New Mexico

Kokopelli

The most important news: Someone looked at our house on Wednesday, but they have not expressed any interest since, so the house is still not selling.

Moving on...

We came to Albuquerque to look at housing options, and we have walked through four homes for sale, two apartments, and one house for rent. We are settling into the probability that we will rent a house eventually - the cost is not very different from apartments, and we will get more space that way. Renting is a way to get the money out of our house and invest it in a way that returns some income, so all part of the retirement plans.

The Kokopelli figure above was in front of the rental home we toured.

We went out for Mexican food on Thursday, and I had pork adovada enchiladas, calabacitas, and fideos, all new to me, all good. Jackie wanted me to remember calbacitas, because she had a bite and loved it. Next up is Cracker Barrel, a visit we were planning before the logo change hullabaloo, because it is a regional place we don't see in Washington.

We are walking distance from the famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Park, but we have not seen even one hot air balloon. Very disappointing. I just looked it up though, and unsurprisingly, hot air balloons don't do well in hot air, so that explains that.

Weather has been over 90 degrees every day, but it's more tolerable than we expected. You go from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned stores and back, and it is usually comfortable enough in the shade. (It is not comfortable in the afternoon sun.) We have had some short thunderstorms.

I visited the Duke City Bridge Club and managed to win half a point. I'm playing again tomorrow, but no great expectations.

I made a list of 19 places in New Mexico that we may want to see, anywhere from here in the Albuquerque area to as far as five hours away. (New Mexico is a big state.) These are just natural sites, so nothing like Taos or downtown Santa Fe. There will be a lot to do if we can ever get here.

Dispatches From New Mexico

Shiprock, from a distance

We made it to New Mexico today, though only to Gallup. Albuquerque is still 140 miles down the road, but our Airbnb rental doesn't start until tomorrow, so no rush.

We already like this part of the country. The scenery is stunning and very different from home, with huge rock formations, big valleys, lots of sun, very dry. Also very hot - 90 degrees or so every day. There are mountains every way you look; sometime tomorrow we will cross the continental divide between here in western New Mexico and Albuquerque.

We are also seeing paces we want to return to, like the Valley of Dreams, figuring the distance from Albuquerque to whatever site. There is a lot to see, and we have not visited this part of the country much.

The idea behind this trip is to look at places we may want to rent, although we will also do some sightseeing if we can, and I will play some bridge if I can.

(I get tired of pointing out that we have not sold the house yet, but, you know...)

 Arlo is a pretty good traveler, hanging out in his kennel in the back of the car most of the day, laying on hotel beds all night. He gets very excited when I let him out of the car for a walk, but then he also seems eager to get back to the car, maybe because it's the only familiar object around at the rest stops, maybe because he knows that's where Jackie and I will be.

New Mexico is full of interesting geological sites. The one pictured above is called Shiprock. It is in the Northwest corner of New Mexico, and it's 1,583 feet tall. Very cool, but in this part of the country (and especially in Utah), there are hundreds of amazing places that would be major attractions in Washington but are just part of the background here. After Shiprock, I took a couple more pictures of big, impressive rock formations that do not have any towns named after them and may not even have names. Just big rocks.

I tried naming some of them myself: "Pointy Rock." "Flat Rock." Jackie says I lack imagination.

Right side of the car, with power lines in front.

Left side of the car, across the street from the one above.

Birthdays

Today is Jackie's birthday. I will not write how old she is, but she is at an unusual period in her adult life when birthdays are happy occasions, because each year she is getting closer to Social Security, Medicare, and retirement. Actually, I have tried to tell Jackie that she is already retired; she was laid off, with her last day at work being last Friday. I want to make that work for her, because trying to find a new job at her age after having her work shipped to India twice is just an ugly prospect.

We need to sell the house. It will work if we can sell the house. It will also work if we do not sell the house, but not as well.

Lucas's birthday was yesterday. He turned 30, so now I have a kid in his thirties. You just get older from here dude, sorry to tell you.

I turned 68 a couple of weeks ago. Someone once told me that 65 was the last good birthday, because you get Medicare. However, I still look forward to 70, because I have not taken Social Security yet, and I hope to start at age 70. After that, I suppose that you can celebrate every five years because you made it that far, and it beats the alternative.

Some people looked at the house on Monday, their second time visiting. They stayed two and a half hours, so we were hopeful, but we are learning not to be too hopeful, and they appear to have backed away. I wonder if people are cautious about buying when the market is declining.

New carpets are going in next Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, Jackie and I plan to take Arlo to New Mexico, where we will have a look at places we might rent if we sell the house and all goes according to plan. While we are gone, the house will be empty, with new carpets and a couple of new windows, and people can walk through at their leisure, and maybe someone will want it.